Juniper Networks, Inc.
Switch fabric packet flow reordering

Abstract:

An ingress fabric endpoint coupled to a switch fabric within a network device reorders packet flows based on congestion status. In one example, the ingress fabric endpoint receives packet flows for switching across the switch fabric. The ingress fabric endpoint assigns each packet for each packet flow to a fast path or a slow path for packet switching. The ingress fabric endpoint processes, to generate a stream of cells for switching across the switch fabric, packets from the fast path and the slow path to maintain a first-in-first-out ordering of the packets within each packet flow. The ingress fabric endpoint switches a packet of a first packet flow after switching a packet of a second packet flow despite receiving the packet of the first packet flow before the packet of the second packet flow.